Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones have taken their old rivalry into a Russian reality TV show, and the exchange on May 15, 2026, quickly turned ugly. Cormier accused Jones of being gay after Jones began making sexualized gestures during the program, then laughed off the remark and stood up to keep the lewd display going.
Cormier said, “All the gay stuff is crazy man. This guys gay man, this guy right here is gay.” He also said, “Look what he’s doing man, he’s gesturing, he’s motioning, about men!” The moment landed as the latest flashpoint in a feud that once defined two of the biggest names in mixed martial arts and now has them back as rival coaches on a show akin to The Ultimate Fighter.
The two men are no strangers to each other or to the spotlight. Jones and Cormier are both retired, and both have held the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight titles. Their history includes two fights in the UFC: Jones won the first by unanimous decision, then knocked Cormier out in the second before that result was overturned after Jones failed a drug test.
That history is what gives the television pairing its force. The rivalry has been rekindled not in an arena, but in front of cameras, where old grievances are easier to revive and harder to ignore. For fans, it is a reminder that the bad blood between Jones and Cormier never really disappeared; it was only waiting for a new stage.
The friction now is not about a title bout or a commission ruling. It is about how far the two former champions will push the performance as the show continues, and whether the revived feud stays at the level of verbal theater or becomes the kind of public spectacle that once followed them through the sport.
